This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Pin and grommet fasteners are known in the art. Such pin and grommet fasteners typically require the pin to be centrally aligned in both X and Y directions with a pin receiving aperture of the grommet. In other words, a pin that is offset from the pin receiving aperture must be physically repositioned to align with the center of the pin receiving aperture of the grommet before the pin can be inserted into the pin receiving aperture. Some pin and grommet fasteners exist that allow for offset of the pin in one direction (e.g., in the X-direction), but the pin must still be repositioned relative to the grommet so the pin is centrally aligned with the pin receiving aperture in the other direction (e.g., in the Y-direction) to effect its insertion.
Such pin and grommet fasteners are not completely satisfactory, for example, where a plurality of pins are attached to a first component in fixed positions relative to each other and need to be inserted into pin receiving apertures of a corresponding plurality of grommets fixed to another component. As another example, such pin and grommet fasteners are not completely satisfactory where insertion of the pin into the grommet involves blind positioning and insertion of the pin in the grommet. Ease of pin insertion in both of these cases would be facilitated by a pin and grommet fastener that can accommodate a significant amount of pin offset in both the X and Y directions during insertion into the pin retaining aperture of the grommet.
In addition, pin and grommet fasteners enabling such two-dimensional offset typically include multiple paths by which water, dirt, or other contaminants can readily pass through the aperture of a component in which such a grommet is mounted. One infiltration path can be between the grommet and the panel. Another infiltration path can be between the multiple components of the grommet itself, which are required to enable such two-dimensional offset. Other infiltration paths can be through the grommet component enabling offset in the X direction, or through the grommet component enabling offset in the Y direction, or through both. The components of such two-dimensional offset grommets typically include numerous extending elements that typically require adjacent openings through the components for molding purposes, making it difficult to seal all possible infiltration paths through the grommet.